Meat rabbits from pet store?

[Fightgar]

Hello all. I am having serious trouble locating sellers in my area, I certainly don't want to buy my meat rabbits from a pet store but other than the obvious ethical reasons, any major reasons not to do this?

My wife and I want to get into breeding our own, but before we actually invest in the setup and research/select our breeders, we just want to kill and butcher a couple of rabbits to make sure we're up to it.

Thank you!

 

[currycomb]

where do you live, in a general sort of way. there are plenty on craigslist around here, and free rabbits in the paper today too

 

[Ms. Research]

where do you live, in a general sort of way. there are plenty on craigslist around here, and free rabbits in the paper today too

X2. Do a search on the internet for rabbits for sale in your area, you will find rabbits out there for what you need to do. I think it wise to do what you are doing. Good Luck. Hope you find what you need to do your experiment regarding meat rabbits.

K

from New Jersey

 

[DKRabbitry]

I picked up a californianX from a pet store. It was kinda just dumb luck. We went there and someone had dropped her and a buck off because they couldn't keep them anymore so the pet store figured "What the heck" and sold them. They had her listed at $10 but it was lowered to $6 by the time we went in so apparently they weren't having an easy time selling them. She was poor quality, too small and lacking in the loin/hindquarter, among other areas. But ended up being a nice rabbit and a GREAT mother so I sold her to someone breeding backyard meat rabbits for personal use. They breed her to a bit larger buck and it has been working well. She had 7 her first litter and 11 her second. I DID make sure to quarantine her for a good long while before getting her anywhere near my herd.

So, while getting a rabbit from the pet store can be done, you would want to make sure to take steps to make sure it is healthy and mature before you try breeding or butchering it. The other issue is, around here, most pet stores only carry mini rex, lionheads and holland lops which are smaller than most people want to mess with. I about passed out when I saw those CalXs in there. Like other people said, I would do it as a last resort kind of thing, around my area, there will be times when you can't find a rabbit for sale anywhere, then a month later the ads will be overflowing with cheap rabbits.

 

[Beekissed]

Contact your local 4-H club...they will know someone in their club or in another club that raises meat rabbits for a fair project. They should always have offspring available as they breed often to keep their doe's production rates up. These can usually be picked up quite cheaply, as very few kids eat their own meat rabbits.

My kids and I always sold all our offspring to the same man who would pay $5 a head for young, market ready, white rabbits. He had a heart condition and used rabbit meat exclusively for his diet...he sure was a blessing to us, as we couldn't have used all those rabbits. Some, but not all. For some reason he only wanted white rabbits...

 

[Citylife]

Fightgar,

As stated earlier, it would help to know where you are. If craigslist is big in your area I would put an add on requesting a couple of 8 week old CA or NZL babies................. mixed breed of those is also fine. Let them know your wanting to process them and find out if it is something you can do. Rabbit meat is wonderful. It can handle alot of seasoning so mixes well with mexican food. I make a rabbit stew that is insanely good..........
One nice thing about rabbits is they are easy to process. Much easier then chickens.
Everyone is different and I personally choose to have rabbits that are white and pink eyed. Reason? Simple... IMO they all look alike and are not cute. My FW's are only cute for about 5 days and then they become eating machines that are soon off to freezer camp. But, everyone is different. And you will find what works best for you. If you need some help on how to butcher or set up a portable butcher station just PM me. I know of a very good youtube on processing also. It is quite simple thank god!
Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mea]

I would third and fourth the checking out CraigsList. Every so often one can find decent rabbits on there. Also Google is a good option when searching. Just ask ...Rabbits and whatever state You might be in. It at the very least should come up with the state rabbit breeders association ... and those usually have breeder listings.

Good luck and...

 

[Snowfie]

It can be hard to find a "meat rabbit" from a petstore. most pet rabbits tend to be smaller (dwarfs or minis) and/or "lops". It's uncommon to find anything worth raising for meat in a petstore.

But a lot of people have given you some good suggestions. I hope you find one that suits you.